Why Play when you’ll never Win?

I’m often asked (or it is energetically questioned), why I am running in politics when I know I won’t get elected. The answers to that question are actually universal, and will benefit you on your personal growth journey… Why do anything in life, when we know we will not achieve the results we intend?

1. We Must Begin and Practice

Do you have a favorite board game, card game, or sport? The first time you played you probably knew you weren’t going to win. But you had to play in order to get better. And you kept playing many games you lost, just so you could learn and practice. What would your life be like if you never started to play that game in the first place?

2. Enjoying the Process & Having Fun is More Important

So many people have heard the phrase, “it’s not winning or losing, but how you play the game that counts.” Yet knowing great quotes doesn’t mean people live it. In fact, if we know we’re going to lose, we can shift our focus and make having fun a higher priority than winning. That’s the ultimate experience (possibly making the hardcore players a little envious).

3. Creating an Architecture

Whether we win or not in the election, we have an official political party that can take political tax donations. That architecture is a great thing to have. Similarly, you may decide to create a corporation, not because you know you will win the game of business, but simply so you can write-off more expenses and save money on taxes. That architecture can serve you well in the future (perhaps when you are ready for the business game).

4. Developing a Long-Term Strategy

Have you thought of taking a dance class or developing a new hobby? You may not become a professional in it, but you may find a whole bunch of amateurs who would love to jam with you. Once immersed in the new community, you may find new resources and develop new strategies to improve your art that you were not conscious of before. Over the course of many games, we can see patterns, techniques, and tricks, which could only come from experience.

5. Help Others Play a Better Game

Harry S. Truman said, “It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.” And so we assert issues in our political debates that other parties sometimes steal — we’re cool with that. That’s because we care more about our ideas being implemented, than we care about our party being elected (which would be to get our ideas implemented). By being a player that is willing to lose, we do help others become better winners. This is creating a world that works for everyone.

6. Getting Inside Information, Creating a New Game

When growing up, I wanted to change the system, but tried to do everything outside of the system because I disliked it so much. As an adult, I realized that the system is so big, that I need to have one foot in it, just so I can understand it and help transform it also from the inside. This provides relatedness with those who are attached to the system, and has me speak not just from theoretical possibility, but from practical experience.

Let’s take this to a more personal example. Have you ever been in a intimate relationship that you knew would not lead to a long-term commitment or marriage? Why stay in that relationship at all? To understand, to grow, and to take a piece of that relationship with you as you move forward in life. Knowing what does and doesn’t work for you will always benefit you in your next relationship, rather than simply waiting for the perfect lover to suddenly show up.

7. You Just Might Win!

Is it possible that your perception of a guaranteed loss is inaccurate or misinformed? Could it be that you don’t necessarily understand what it actually does take to win? What would happen if you won even by a fluke or some unforeseen circumstance that nobody could ever predict? Scott Michael said, “The will to win stems from the knowledge that you can win.” So rather than find the evidence to support why you will lose, find reasons to win. That motivation is the most powerful of all.

It’s a shame; those people who won’t play because they think they won’t win. For those people are really the only ones who ever lose.

Why play when you’ll never win? Actually, you’ll never win, unless you play. (Life is usually the exact opposite of how most people think.)